Barring something major - like the immediate unexpected exodus of a couple of linemen from Michigan - Texas is officially done with portal recruiting for the spring semester.
In review, the Horns grabbed eight players who expect to contribute immediately, six of them heavily. Meanwhile, the Horns lost 15 players to the portal, of which I'd say four or five would have been contributors of some level. Perhaps one departure really, really hurt - Trill Carter (Auburn).
Carter would have been immediate, helpful depth at a position of need.
The others of note: safety Jerrin Thompson (Auburn), safety Kitan Crawford (Nevada), receiver Isaiah Neyor (Nebraksa) and quarterback Maalik Murphy (Duke).
Thompson and Crawford would have provided a lot of experience in the secondary. Crawford was a demon on special teams; he will be missed there.
So, yes, there were some losses.
But overall, the portal is clearly a net gain. Three starter-level receivers, a starting TE from a college football playoff team, an edge rusher with 14.5 sacks, an experienced back-up linebacker, a defensive tackle with some starting experience, and a three-year starting DB from a nationally ranked team.
Sark and his personnel staff yet again used the opportunity available to them to improve the roster. Ongoing improvement, piece by piece, continues to be perhaps the biggest theme of Sark's tenure.
It's not his offense, or his quarterback tutelage, not merely his top-notch recruiting, it's been his pursuit of upping the ante, improving his team and roster, at every chance that has made him - and Texas - into a force to be reckoned with.
If Texas keeps adding pieces to the puzzle, replacing ones that go to the NFL or portal out, then we're on a path of being a program, not just a
We don't know where this will all end up for Texas. But the steady incline of the program is what we're seeing.
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